European Heritage Days (EHD) is a joint action of the Council of Europe and the European Commission involving all 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention under the motto, Europe: a common heritage. The annual programme offers opportunities to visit buildings, monuments and sites, many of which are not normally accessible to the public. It aims to widen access and foster care for architectural and environmental heritage. These events are also known as Doors Open Days and Open Doors Days in English-speaking countries.
The event began in France in 1984, with La Journée portes ouvertes dans les monuments historiques, sponsored by the Ministry of Culture. In 1985, in Granada, at the 2nd European Conference of Ministers responsible for Architectural Heritage, the French Minister of Culture proposed that the project be internationalised under the Council of Europe. The Netherlands held their first Open Monumentendag in 1987. Sweden and the Republic of Ireland joined in 1989, as well as Belgium and Scotland in 1990.
In 1991 these events were united as European Heritage Days at the initiative of the Council of Europe, supported by the EU. By 2010, 50 signatory states of the European Cultural Convention had joined the EHDs. The most recent European Heritage Days event was hosted by Armenia in September 2019.[1]
The Directorate General IV – Education, Culture and Heritage, Youth and Sport of the Council of Europe, in close cooperation with the Directorate General for Education and Culture of the European Commission, ensures the general orientation, definition and execution of the tasks to be achieved within the framework of the EHD. The Secretariat of the EHD is carried out by the Directorate of Culture and Cultural and Natural Heritage, under the responsibility of the Council of Europe's Steering Committee for Cultural Heritage.
Participating member states of the European Heritage Days are:
Andorra
Armenia
Austria
Azerbaijan
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Croatia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Georgia
Germany
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia
San Marino
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
Turkey
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Andorra: "Jornades europees del patrimoni" by Patrimoni Cultural Austria: Tag Des DenkmalsbyBundesdenkmalamt Belgium:
Brussels: Journées du patrimoine à Bruxelles Archived 2015-04-14 at the Wayback Machine / Open Monumentendagen in Brussel Archived 2015-04-14 at the Wayback Machine
Flanders: Open Monumentendag Vlaanderen
Wallonia: Journées du patrimoine en Wallonie France: "Journées européennes du patrimoine" under the auspices of the Ministry of Culture Germany: Tag des offenen Denkmals by the Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz Ireland: Heritage Week by the Heritage Council Italy: "Giornate Europee del Patrimonio" by Ministero per i Beni e le Attività Culturali Latvia:『Eiropas kultūras mantojuma dienas』by National Heritage Board of Latvia[2] Netherlands: "Open Monumentendag" by Stichting Open Monumentendag[3] Poland: "Europejskie Dni Dziedzictwa" ("European Heritage Days") by National Heritage Board of Poland[4] Portugal: "Jornadas Europeias do Património" by Direção Geral do Património Cultural Russia: "Европейские дни наследия" by Russian Scientific Research Institute for Natural and Cultural Heritage Spain: "Las Jornadas Europeas de Patrimonio" by Instituto del Patrimonio Cultural de España (Ministry of Culture and Sport)
Catalonia: "Les Jornades Europees de Patrimoni" by Patrimoni Cultural United Kingdom:
England: Heritage Open Days by the National Trust. London has a separate event, Open House London.
Scotland: Doors Open DaysbyScottish Civic Trust
Wales: Open Doors Days (Welsh: Drysau Agored) by Civic Trust for Wales Northern Ireland: European Heritage Open Days Switzerland:『Europäischer Tag des Denkmals - Journées européennes du patrimoine - Giornate europee del patrimonio』by the Swiss Information Centre for Cultural Heritage ConservationThis idea is popular outside Europe, too, with similar schemes in Canada since 1974 in Alberta, the United States[citation needed], Australia,[5] and other countries, at various times of year. In Argentina and Uruguay the corresponding Día del Patrimonio is held on the last weekend of September, while in Chile the same event is held on the last Sunday of May.
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